Fire-escape



E. w. LEONARD.-

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I, I919.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

7 J0 INVENTOR.

BY Z: l lQlea/zard.

WITNESS: J Z924 ATTORNEY.

E. w. LEONARD.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.(, 1919.

EARL W. LEONARD, OF VICTORIA, LOUISIANA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Application filed August 1, 1919. Serial No. 314,672.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARL W. LEONARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Victoria, in the parish of N atchitoches and State of Louisiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in F ire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices, particularly to fire escapes, and has for its object the provision of a fire escape in the nature of a ladder adapted to be coiled or rolled into compact form for disposition upon the wall of a room near a window so that it may be readily thrown out of the window to permit the occupant of the room to descend to safety, a novel form of means being employed for holding the upper end of the ladder associated with the window.

in important obiect is the provision of fire escape of this character which will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, which may readily installed, which will be extremely easy to operate, and which will be efllcient and durable in use.

With the above and other objects and ad- ";."1L tgGS in view, the invention consists in the d is of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illutrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a building showing my fire escape hanging from a window thereof.

Fig. 2 is a detail view ladder structure,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through the window of a building showing the lad der suspending means in top plan,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the window showing the ladder supporting means in section,

Fig. 5 is a View showing my fire escape hanging upon the wall of a room in position ready for use, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the ladder supporting member.

lReferring more particularly to the drawings, my ladder structure comprises a pair of cables 10 which are formed preferably of fire-proof material such as twisted steel wires or the like. Connecting the cables 10 at proper intervals are rungs 11 which may be made of hard wood but which are illustrating the preferably made of steel and which are provided in each end with eyelets 12 through which the cables pass and the cables are knotted above and below each rung whereby to hold the rungs in position. At their up per ends, the cables 10 have formed thereon loops 13, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. When the ladder is not in use, it is designed to be rolled up into a cylindrical form and to be supported upon any suitable hooks provided upon a board 14 secured upon the wall inside of a room, preferably near a window.

When the ladder is to be used, as in the event of a fire, it is of course necessary that it be removed from the supporting board 14 and disposed outside of the window. and it then becomes necessary to provide means for holding the upper end of the ladder. This means comprises a bar 15 formed of strong material which is adapted to be disposed crosswise of a window, preferably near the sill thereof, and this bar carries hooks upon which the loops 13 at the upper ends of the cables are adapted to be engaged. The bar 15 also has secured thereon spaced blocks or projections 17 spaced somewhatinwardly from the sides of the window, and whereby longitudinal movement of the bar after its engagement upon the window will be prevented. When the bar 15 is in position and the ladder suspended from the hooks 16, it will be readily apparent that a person may descend the ladder to safety. lVhen the bar is not in use it is supposed to be supported from suit able hooks 18 upon the board 14 nailed upon the wall.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simple and inexpensive fire escape ladder which may be disposed in compact form upon the wall of a room when not in use but which may be quickly and easily unrolled and suspended from a window whereby the occupant of the room may descend to safety.

l Vhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, 1

claim:-'

A fire escape comprising 111 combln a ladder having flexible sides and ation, V

rigid 5 rungs, the ladder being normally coiled into a compact roll, and a supporting member secured upon the Wall formed as a plate ad acent a Window opening and pro vided EARL W. LEONARD. 

